Connecticut State Capitol
Part 1 of 4: The Architecture and Architectural Sculpture
The Connecticut State Capitol is located in Hartford, a few blocks west of the Connecticut River near the center of the state. The state boarders Massachusetts to the north, Rhode Island to the east, the Long Island Sound and Long Island New York to the south, and New York to the west. The southwestern part of the state tends to be affiliated with New York City, with higher property values, and affluent communities. From the northwest the land area transitions from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains where the Appalachian Trail can be found, to a coastal plain along Long Island Sound. The more populous areas are in the center of the state along the Connecticut River, and along the southern coast where a coastal plain includes about 600 miles of coastline with numerous city ports. Long Island protects the southern coast of Connecticut from rough seas, with the Long Island Sound leading both east and west out to the Atlantic Ocean. Access to the sound and the Atlantic Ocean led to an economy supported by numerous maritime related industries along the coast. In 1639, the Connecticut Colony was formed with one of the first written constitutions in America. Delegates from Connecticut were instrumental in proposing the House and Senate structure we have today, and in 1788 Connecticut became the 5th state to ratify the US Constitution.
The Connecticut State Capitol was built from 1872 to 1878, and designed in a High Victorian Gothic and Renaissance Revival architectural styles by the architect Richard Upjohn, and constructed by James Batterson. The overall form of the exterior and the interior design and colors have characteristics of the Eastlake architectural style that was popular in many large residential dwellings from the 1870s.
Richard Mitchell Upjohn, 1828 to 1903, was born in Shaftesbury Dorseshire England, and emigrated with his family in 1829. He grew up in New York and apprenticed with his father, Richard Upjohn, and eventually became a partner in his father’s architectural firm. Upjohn and his father were both noted for their many church designs in the High Gothic Revival architectural style.
James Goodwin Batterson, 1823 to 1901, was born in Bloomfield Connecticut and worked with his father in the quarrying and importing of stone. He became a designer, builder, and owner of the New England Granite Works, and the founder of Travelers Insurance Company. He is noted for the many monuments he constructed using sculptors from Italy, and as a contractor he built many stone buildings including the Connecticut State Capitol.
The Capitol is five stories in height over a full basement, plus several levels up into the lantern dome. The building exterior is marble from East Canaan Connecticut and granite from Westerly Rhode Island, and the interior uses white marble and red slate from Connecticut, and some colored tiles from Italy.
Both Upjohn and Batterson were competitors in a design competition for the capitol, which Upjohn won, but Batterson was given the contract for the construction. Upjohn was an architect and in general, the building was built according to his design, but Batterson was a stone importer and merchant, and made numerous embellishments to the architectural sculpture that further enhanced the design.
Lantern Dome
The dome was not part of the original competition design by the architect Richard Upjohn, but instead was added as a revision to the design at the request of the Capitol Construction Committee. None of the other competition architects had proposed domes either, but some members of the selecting committee felt that a dome better represented the Capitol form as was done for the Nation’s Capitol in Washington DC. Upjohn’s original design included a tall clock tower, but at the committee’s request he revised the design to include the tall lantern dome in place today.
The dome features twelve allegorical figures representing the Allegories of Humanity, and a cupola capped with a spire. It was constructed of brick and marble with a copper roof that is coated with gold gilding. The original design included an allegorical figure known as the Genius of Connecticut, in place of the spire. The bronze sculpture was damaged in a hurricane in 1938 and had to be removed, but a replacement is planned, and is on display in the Capitol rotunda.
The twelve allegorical figures surrounding the dome were each made from a single block of Carrara marble. There are actually two each of six that represent Music, Force and War, Agriculture, Commerce, Science and Justice, and Education and Law. The same figures are also featured on the two Grand Staircases inside the Capitol on each side of the Rotunda. Batterson recreated the figures as replicas of the allegorical maidens by sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward. The actual series by Ward included 12 maidens, but only 6 in duplicates were created for the Capitol due to cost.
Music, depicts a maiden reaching with her right hand to play a Lyre cradled in her left arm.
Force and War, depicts a guard with a spear in her right hand standing watch.
Agriculture, depicts a maiden with an apple in her right hand and a sheaf of wheat cradled in her left arm.
Commerce, depicts a hooded maiden shielding her eyes with her right hand as if to peer into the distance, and holding a triangular anchor in her left hand. For this figure I have wondered whether she might be peering into the future, with a triangle from a sundial for time and direction.
Science and Justice, depicts a maiden holding an snake entwined caduceus staff in her right hand and a globe in her left hand.
Education and Law, depicts a maiden raising her arm to proclaim the laws inscribed on the scroll she holds in her left hand.
John Quincy Adams Ward, 1830 to 1910, was born in Urbana Ohio, and grew up on his family’s farm. He trained under a local potter and then studied in New York with sculptor Henry Kirke Brown, who credited him as an assistant on the equestrian monument of George Washington in Union Square. In 1861, Ward set up his own studio in New York City where he obtained many notable commissions, taught classes, and gave lectures.
The Connecticut State Capitol is a unique design for the number of statuaries of historical figures that have been incorporated into the exterior facade in addition to the twelve Allegories of Humanity around the dome. Upjohn’s concept was to portray Connecticut history with sculpture in the same way many European cathedrals depict biblical stories in their architectural sculpture. In 1900, Paul Wayland Bartlet, a sculptor of several statuaries and scenes at the North Entrance, was asked to complete a plan that followed the concept Upjohn had created.
East Entrance
The East Entrance to the building was the first side completed during construction, and so it has the most complete collection of sculptures with four statuaries, three tympana above the entrances, and six roundel busts from the Colonial and Revolutionary War era. There are four additional roundels that are plugged, which could be removed for additional busts.
The first two statues above the East Entrances are of Thomas Hooker and Roger Sherman.
Thomas Hooker, 1586 to 1647, was the founder of the Connecticut Colony and a Congregational minister that left Massachusetts over disagreements with the Puritans. His statue was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1889.
Roger Sherman, 1721 to 1793, served in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate representing Connecticut. He was a signatory to the Continental Association, the 1774 Petition to the King, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the US Constitution. His statue was sculpted by Chauncey Ives in 1878.
The sculptor for Hooker was Charles Niehaus, and for Sherman was Chauncey Ives.
Charles Henry Niehaus, 1855 to 1935, was born in Cincinnati Ohio, and studied at the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati, and the Royal Academy in Munich Germany. He worked on commissions in studied further in Rome, and then in 1885 he returned to the states to open a studio in New York City.
Chauncey Bradley Ives, 1810 to 1894, was born in Hamden Connecticut, and apprenticed with Rodolphus Northrop in New Haven, and possibly Hezekiah Augur. He worked in Boston and New York, and then in 1851 he moved to Rome where he completed numerous commissions from the United States.
Two more statues above the East Entrances are of Johnathan Trumbull and John Davenport.
Johnathan Trumbull, 1710 to 1785, was a Revolutionary War Governor of both the Connecticut Colony and the State of Connecticut. His statue was sculpted by Chauncey Ives in 1878.
John Davenport, 1597 to 1669, was a Puritan clergyman and co-founder of the New Haven Colony, which eventually merged to form the Connecticut Colony. His statue was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1889.
There are three tympana above the East Entrances depicting events from the Colonial era.
Hooker’s March to Hartford, depicts Thomas Hooker, a Congregationalist minister, leading about 100 settlers from Massachusetts to Hartford where they established the Connecticut Colony. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1895.
Charter Oak, was a large White Oak on Wyllys Hill in Hartford Connecticut where William Wadsworth hid Connecticut’s Royal Charter of 1662 from Sir Edmund Andros to prevent its destruction. The White Oak was protected from cutting by the settler Samuel Wyllys at the request of local natives because it had been planted ceremonially for peace. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Charles Salewski in 1876.
The sculptor, Charles D. Salewski, was a Connecticut stone carver that specialized in stone statues and monuments, including the Charter Oak relief sculpture. No additional information on Salewski was found.
Davenport Preaching at New Haven, depicts the Congregational minister preaching to the settlers at the newly established colony at New Haven. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1895.
In addition there are two busts in roundels to each side of the three tympanum relief sculptures over the East Entrances for a total of six busts.
Joel Barlow, 1754 to 1812, was a poet, diplomat and politician from the Connecticut Colony and served as the US Minister to France. His bust was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1885.
George Berkeley, 1685 to 1753, was born in Ireland and became a noted philosopher, missionary, and bishop. He donated land and books to Yale University in New Haven Connecticut where they established the Berkeley College and Berkeley Divinity School. His bust was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1885.
Horace Bushnell, 1802 to 1876, was born in Connecticut and became a minister and civic leader. He was instrumental in establishing Hartford’s first public park named Bushnell Park adjoining the Capitol grounds. His bust was sculpted by Carl Conrads in 1895.
Noah Webster, 1758 to 1843, was born in the Connecticut Colony and became a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. He was instrumental in the creation of an English language dictionary, a precursor to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. His bust was sculpted by Carl Conrads in 1895.
The sculptor, Carl Conrads, 1839 to 1920, was born in Sinzig Rhineland Palatinate Germany, and studied at the Koeniglich Bayerische Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, also known as the Munich Art Academy. He emigrated to New York in 1860, and served with the Union during the Civil War. After the war he worked for James Batterson at his New England Granite Works, as an architectural sculptor.
John Trumbull, 1756 to 1843, was born in the Connecticut Colony and served as an aide to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He was and artist and used his abilities to sketch plans of British and American battle lines, and later to create many battle scenes from the war. His bust was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1895.
Johnathan Edwards, 1703 to 1758, was born in the Connecticut Colony and became a Congregationalist minister. He was noted for many philosophical and theological works, and later for becoming President of Princeton University. His bust was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus in 1895.
North Entrance
The North Entrance is the main ceremonial entrance where the Senate Chamber is located on the upper floors above. There are six statuaries and five tympana above the entrances from the Colonial era. In addition there are 16 roundels that have been plugged where additional bust could be installed.
The first three statuaries are of John Haynes, William Wadsworth, and John Winthrop.
John Haynes, 1594 to 1653, was born in Essex England and became a colonial magistrate and one of the founders and Governor of the Connecticut Colony. His statue was sculpted by Richard Brooks in 1908.
William Wadsworth, 1594 to 1675, was born in Long Buckby England, and became an early pioneer in New England and founder of Hartford Connecticut. His statue was sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett in 1906.
John Winthrop Jr., 1605 to 1676, also known as John Winthrop the Younger, was born in Groton Suffolk England, and was instrumental in uniting the colonies to form the Connecticut Colony where he served as Governor. His statue was also sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett in 1906.
The sculptors for Haynes was Richard Brooks, and for Wadsworth and Winthrop was Paul Bartlet.
Richard Edwin Brooks, 1865 to 1919, was born in Braintree Massachusetts, and studied at the studio of T H Bartlett in Boston, and under Jean-Paul Aubé in Paris.
Paul Wayland Bartlet, 1865 to 1925, was born in New Haven Connecticut, and studied in Paris with Emmanuel Frémiet and Jardin des Plantes. He is noted for many heroic sculptures and pediment relief sculptures across the northeast including the pediments at the New York Stock Exchange and the Capitol in Washington DC.
The remaining three statuaries above the North Entrance are of Theophilus Eaton, John Mason, and Roger Ludlow.
Theophilus Eaton, 1590 to 1658, was born in Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire England. He became a wealth merchant and helped finance the Great Puritan Migration to America. He helped found the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was a Governor of the New Haven Colony. His statue was sculpted by Paul Bartlett in 1907.
John Mason, 1600 to 1672, was born in Ravensthorpe Northamptonshire England, and joined the Puritan migration to America. He became a soldier, commander, and eventually Deputy Governor of the Connecticut Colony. He is known for leading Puritan settlers on an attack of the Pequot Fort known as the Mystic Massacre that essentially wiped out the Pequot tribe in southeast Connecticut. His statue was sculpted by Paul Bartlett in 1909.
Roger Ludlow, 1590 to 1664, was born in Dinton Wiltshire England. He became Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, and was successful in negotiating the first treaty between the English and the Pequot. His statue was sculpted by Richard Brooks in 1909.
Above the North Entrances are five tympanum relief sculptures depicting scenes from the Colonial era.
Attack on an Indian Fort, portrays Puritan settlers, under the leadership of John Mason, attacking a Pequot fort in southeast Connecticut. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Paul Bartlett in 1908.
Wadsworth Hiding the Charter depicts the legend of William Wadsworth hiding Connecticut’s Royal Charter of 1662 by King Charles II in the Charter Oak tree, to prevent Sir Edmund Andros taking Connecticuts written documentation of independence and trying to merge the Colony with the Dominion of New England in a 1687 charter by King James II. Colonist resisted and by 1689 the Dominion of England was dissolved. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Richard Brooks in 1916.
The Connecticut Coat of Arms includes three grape vines representing the New Haven, Saybrook, and Connecticut Colonies that merged to form Connecticut. The banner in Latin states Qui Transtulit Sustinet, which means “He Who Transplanted Still Sustains.” This relief was created by an unidentified sculptor in 1908.
Putnam Leaving the Plow, refers to General Israel Putnam leaving his farm with the plow in the middle of a field to join the fight when he heard word of battles in Lexington and Concord during the Revolutionary War. This tympanum relief was sculpted by Hermon Atkins MacNeil in 1916.
John Holms Passing a Dutch Fort, was an assertion by the English explorer to claims along the Connecticut River valley, and a challenge to Dutch rule in the area. The tympanum relief was sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett in 1908.
The sculptor, Hermon Atkins MacNeil, 1866 to 1947, was born in Everett Massachusetts, and studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and under Henri M. Chapu and Alexandre Falguière in Paris.
There are two roundels with bronze reliefs on each side of the entrances under the portico. They are of Joseph Hawley, and Orville Platt, which are from the Civil War era.
Joseph R Hawley, 1826 to 1905, was a Civil War General, US Representative, US Senator, and Governor, and was noted as the first volunteer from Connecticut. The roundel relief was sculpted by Herbert Adams in 1908.
Orville Hitchcock Platt, 1827 to 1905, was a statesman, and US Senator. His roundel relief was sculpted by Hermon MacNeil in 1908.
The sculptor, Samuel Herbert Adams, 1858 to 1945, was born in West Concord Vermont, and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Normal Art School, and under Antonin Mercié in Paris. In 1890, he opened a studio in New York City and created many important works in bronze using the lost wax method.
West Entrance
The West facade has four statuaries from military and government service during the Revolutionary War era. There are no places for tympanum reliefs on this side, but there are four roundels that have been plugged and could have busts installed. This entrance is now the main visitors entrance and includes an accessible ramp from a handicap parking area at the southwest corner.
Oliver Wolcots, 1762 to 1797, was a Revolutionary War hero who signed the Declaration of Independence, served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and as a Governor of Connecticut. His statue was sculpted by Harmon MacNeil in 1917.
David Humphreys, 1752 to 1818, was a Revolutionary War hero, an aid to George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, and served in the Connecticut state legislature. His statue was sculpted by Harmon MacNeil in 1917.
David Wooster, 1710 to 1777, was a General from Connecticut that served in the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War where he died of his wounds at the Battle of Ridgefield. His statue was sculpted by Harmon MacNeil in 1917.
Oliver Ellsworth, 1745 to 1807, served as a US Senator from Connecticut, Chief Justice, and a framer of the US Constitution. His statue was sculpted by Harmon MacNeil in 1917.
South Entrance
The South Wing extension includes the House Chamber in the upper floors above a covered entrance. The statuaries include Ella Grasso on the west face, several Civil War era figures on the south face, and no figures on the east face.
Ella T. Grasso, 1919 to 1981, served in the US House of Representatives, and became the first female Governor of Connecticut. Her statue was sculpted by Frank Gaylord in 1987.
The sculptor, Frank Gaylord, 1925 to 2018, was born in Clarksburg West Virginia, and served in the Army during World War II. After the War he studied at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now called Carnegie Mellon University, and the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. He apprenticed under Bruno Sarzanini in Vermont.
The south entrance of the South Wing includes statuaries from the Civil War era sculpted by Herman MacNeil.
Gideon Welles, 1802 to 1878, was from Connecticut and served as Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War. His statue was sculpted by Herman MacNeil in 1934.
John Sedgwick, 1813 to 1864, was from Connecticut and served as a Union Army General during the Civil War. His statue was sculpted by Herman MacNeil in 1934.
Alfred Howe Terry, 1827 to 1890, was from Connecticut and served as a Union Army General during the Civil War. His statue was sculpted by Herman MacNeil in 1934.
The south extension has the most room for additional architectural sculpture. Here there are slots available for eight statuaries, nine tympanum reliefs, and thirty roundel busts. Now that the twentieth century is past it is probably time to consider telling Connecticuts history from reconstruction through the Great Depression and both World Wars. In addition, a missing element is the plight of the original Americans, the Pequot tribe and others that lived on the land before colonization.
The Capitol’s final cost was over twice the original budget, believed to be due primarily to the additional embellishment of stone architectural sculpture procured and installed by Batterson. Regardless, what the people received has proven to be a beautiful and lasting work of art.
Commentary
If the Pennsylvania State Capitol is the most elaborate “Palace of Art” of all the capitols, then the Connecticut State Capitol can be considered the most elaborate display of architectural sculpture in its exterior stone facade. At that time it was the largest State Capitol in the country and the most decorative in its Victorian Gothic form.
There needs to be some type of monumental recognition of the Pequot tribe that was wiped out by John Mason and the Connecticut Settlers in 1637. There is ample room in the niches, tympanums, and roundels to continue the story of Connecticut. I hope that at some point in the future the figures and layout will be considered again beginning with the Native Americans and continuing through our struggles with slavery, women’s rights, civil rights, and war, some of which is still ongoing.
Charles D. Salewski: I have not been able to locate biographical information on Charles Salewski, the sculptor for the Charter Oak. If anyone has information please feel free to send it my way.
Connecticut Coat of Arms: This tympana relief over the north entrance is by an unidentified sculptor. My best guess is that it was done by one of the architectural sculptors employed by Batterson at the New England Granite Works. If anyone has information please feel free to send it my way by email at david.v.smitherman@gmail.com.
This story continues with Part 2 on the Interior Architecture and Sculpture, Part 3 on Capitol Grounds and Legislative Office Building, and Part 4 on Connecticut’s Old State House.
Travel Notes
My first visit to the Connecticut State Capitol included stops at the Pennsylvania State Capitols and a scenic detour on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park while in route between Boston Massachusetts and Huntsville Alabama. The interior was closed due to the pandemic so I photographed the exterior of the Capitol and toured the Capitol Grounds and Bushnell Park next door.
The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was a recent horror along with several other racist incidents across the country. So on this day part of Trinity Street at Bushnell Park was closed to permit public protest with the painting of a Black Lives Matter banner on the pavement. The street art was replaced in 2023 after repaving, but this is the original work in progress by BLM 860.
Notes and References
Story and photographs by David Smitherman, with data collected from onsite inscriptions and brochures, Wikipedia, Google Maps, and Google Lens. Site visits were made in July 2020, August 2023, and November 2024.
Capitol Statue History at Jason Werner Art: https://www.jasonwernerart.com/capitol-statue-series.
“Temples of Democracy: The State Capitols of the U.S.A.,” by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and William Seale, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, London, 1976.
History, The Connecticut State Capitol: https://www.cga.ct.gov/cprc/history.asp#:~:text=At%20the%20exterior%20base%20of,Science%2FJustice%2C%20and%20Music.
Capitol Sculptors: https://www.publicartct.org/.